Tag: WWJD

Yogi

A homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 13, 2022

Mal 3:19-20a, 2 Thes 3:7-12, Lk 21:5-19

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

That sterling bit of advice is attributed to the great American philosopher Yogi Berra, whose wisdom spanned every aspect of everyday life.

And our everyday lives are filled with forks in the road, with yes-or-no, right-or-left choices, sometimes dozens or even hundreds a day.

Yes or no.

Right or left.

Right or wrong.

Oh my: Once again, we’ve come to a fork in the road. Where do we go? And how do we know?

Continue reading Yogi

Up, not out

A homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18, 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18, Lk 18:9-14

When we hear about a natural disaster or a manmade tragedy (and, yes, dammit, they’re made mostly by men), how do we react? How do we act?

Probably the first thing we do is consider how much loose change we have, or whether we’re willing to skip a pumpkin spice latte this week, so we can send a few bucks to whatever charitable organization is taking the lead on relief efforts.

And with the ability to donate online, we can make a tiny bit of difference without getting off the couch. Website or app, click here, card information already stored, type in the CVV afresh, submit. 

And for less than a dollar a day…

Yeah, we all know those commercials, don’t we?

Continue reading Up, not out

Return trip

A homily for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 11, 2022

Ex 32:7-11, 13-14, 1 Tm 1:12-17, Lk 15:1-32

A news article about the cleanup of a toxic-waste dump quoted an environmental scientist about the contaminated soil. 

It’s like a kitchen sponge, he said. You can rinse a sponge and squeeze it again and again, but you never get all the soap or dirt out of it, no matter how many times you try, no matter how hard you try.

You can get really close, but that’s it.

Which is exactly what happens when we seek forgiveness.

Continue reading Return trip

Aw, shucks

A homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 28, 2022

Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a, Lk 14:1, 7-14

Imagine for a second that you’re a top-flight horseback rider and you’ve just won a coveted blue ribbon.

Or maybe you’re a quilter, and you’ve won a blue ribbon.

Or a chef, and you’ve achieved Cordon Bleu.

The applause is deafening. Your family and friends and total strangers are cheering for you, clapping for you, patting you on the back, maybe asking for your autograph.

Then it’s time to say a few words.

Continue reading Aw, shucks

Two worlds

A homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 31, 2022

Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23, Col 3:1-5, 9-11, Lk 12:13-21

Remember when we were young and boisterous and our parents admonished us to use our “inside” voices?

Remember going to a fancy place for a special dinner and being told we were on our best behavior, that we had to use “country club” manners?

Remember having to change clothes from too casual to dressy?

We could never be fully ourselves. Not really fully, not just plain us.

Our lives were sliced up, boxed up, compartmentalized. School life. Play life. Sports life. Home life.

Continue reading Two worlds

Not to be missed

A homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 17, 2022

Gn 18:1-10a, Col 1:24-28, Lk 10:38-42

This is not a rant about people (especially motorists) whose faces are buried in their phones and digital devices nonstop (although it could be).

This is more of an observation about what they’re missing.

Continue reading Not to be missed

Pocket change

A homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 10, 2022

Dt 30:10-14, Col1:15-20, Lk 10:25-37

What’s in your pocket?

If this were a TV commercial, you’d answer one way.

If this were “Let’s Make A Deal,” you’d answer another.

If you were being frisked, your answer would be something else entirely.

But this is none of those situations.

What’s in your pocket?

Continue reading Pocket change

Get going!

A homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 3, 2022

Is 66:10-14c, Gal 6:14-18, Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 

In my Boy Scout days — back when I wore the uniform and attended meetings, not my current ongoing demeanor — Lincroft Troop 110 would spend two weeks each summer at Forestburg Scout Camp, somewhere in New York state between Port Jervis and Monticello, as I recall.

The younger scouts would stay in cabin tents at Central Camp, famed or infamous for its dining hall, Army-style chow and “bug juice,” a Kool-Aid knockoff usually lukewarm and red.

More experienced scouts bunked at the Dan Beard Camp (I never looked up who Mr. Beard was and I still haven’t), where small groups of us did our own cooking and cleaning. We still had bug juice to drink.

The rain-soaked highlight/lowlight of each week was the overnight hike, where everyone was supposed to rough it, with only a blanket and poncho and a basic mess kit to spend the night. 

Packing light, in other words. 

Continue reading Get going!

This way

A homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 26, 2022

1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21, Gal 5:1, 13-18, Lk 9:51-62

In 1966, Walt Disney produced a movie called “Follow Me, Boys!” about a man who settles down in a small town and becomes a scoutmaster. It starred Fred MacMurray, best known to the TV generation as the father in “My Three Sons” and to the Turner Classic Movies generation as the star of “Double Indemnity.”

In one scene in “Follow Me, Boys!” MacMurray stumbles into a restricted area and is questioned by the Army. After he explains he’s a scoutmaster, the soldiers challenge him to tie a sheepshank, a complicated knot he never got the hang of.

Had he tied it, the knot would have been incontrovertible proof that he was a troop leader.

Oops.

(His identity did eventually get clarified.)

Continue reading This way